Vocab: seletama - to explain
to explain; to make something clear or more understandable; to interpret something; to talk (at length) about something; to be able to perceive clearly
Building blocks
sele- → related to clarity or making something understandable (probably related to selge = clear)
-ta- → causative (“make something be X”)
-ma → infinitive ending
So, in essence, seletama comes from the idea of making something clear or understandable. There is also another similar word in Estonian: selgitama ("to explain").
Quick comparison:
Seletama = used in everyday language to explain or describe something so others understand it — informal
Selgitama = more formal and precise, often used to clarify reasons, meanings, or motives
How to use it
What to remember
What you explain is in the Partitive Case (third base form)
Ta seletas mulle mängu reegleid
Literally: “He/She explained me-onto game rules”
Idiomatically: “He/She explained the game rules to me”
Ta - Pronoun - Nominative Singular: "He/She"
seletas - 3rd Person Singular, Past Tense: "explained"
mulle - Pronoun - Allative Singular (answers the question kellele? = “to whom”): "to me"
mängu - Noun - Genitive Singular: "game"
reegleid - Noun - Partitive Plural: "rules"To whom you explain is in the Allative Case (ending -le)
Õpetaja seletab õpilasele matemaatikaülesannet
Literally: “Teacher explains student-onto math-problem”
Idiomatically: “The teacher explains the math problem to the student”
Õpetaja – Noun - Nominative Singular: "Teacher"
seletab – Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Present Tense: "explains"
õpilasele – Noun - Allative Singular (answers the question kellele? = "to whom"): "to the student"
matemaatikaülesannet – Noun - Partitive Singular: "math problem"